Book Review: The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo #1) by Rick Riordan

Description: How do you punish an immortal? By making him human. After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favour. […]

Rating: ★★★★★

Disclaimer: Review Contains Spoilers

I don’t think Rick Riordan will ever release a book that I won’t love. I don’t even care that I, an 18 year old, is reading a book technically written for children. I just love his books so dearly.

It was so great to dive back into the Percy Jackson universe that was closer to home (home being Percy himself). Like don’t get me wrong I loved Magnus Chase but reading a book in which happens directly at Camp Half-Blood felt like coming home again. And I loved the fact that this book happens pretty much the same time as Sword of Summer so both Annabeth and Percy are out doing things.

Apollo, dear Apollo I fell in love with him the moment we remet him as just a “mere mortal” and damn was he hilarious. There were so many moments when I had to stop myself from literally laughing out loud because of some of the things Apollo was saying. He really did not like being mortal. But I’m honestly glad that by the end of it he realised how much being a mortal helped him discover things.

Plus this book gave the best opportunity for one of my favourite characters, who was barely a part in Heroes of Olympus, to finally shine (pun unintended). Will Solace, son of Apollo. AND his boyfriend (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Nico di Angelo. You don’t understand how happy I am that Solangelo is finally canon. I’ve been shipping this pairing very hard since their brief interactions in Blood of Olympus and to be honest there was nothing there to say that they’d ever become anything more. BUT The Hidden Oracle blesses us with the canonisation of Solangelo in just the simplest, beautifulest way and I thank Riordan for this.

Meg McCaffrey, I loved her from the minute I met her. For a twelve year old (which to be honest I kept forgetting how young she was whilst reading it because of how badass she is) she’s everything. Sassy, strong, badass, funny. The minute that we heard The Beast say that someone had been planted into Camp Half-Blood to help him open the doors I knew it was going to be her that was going to betray Apollo. Especially because of the fact that 1) she was a demi god 2) they were linked by the bond and 3) it couldn’t have been a coincidence that she was the one to fight of the thugs that were fighting Apollo after he had fallen from the sky and into the dumpster. What I didn’t expect to find out that The Beast’s counterpart Nero (I got some Jekyl and Hyde vibes here) was the man that took Meg in and became her stepfather after her father was murdered by The Beast, (yes this means her step-father killed her birth father). And that is why the betrayal occurred.

LEO FREAKING VALDEZ. When he was brought up the first time near the beginning when Apollo first reached Camp Half-Blood I was ecstatic because my other under appreciated son was finally being talked about until Nico di Angelo revealed that he was still MIA after the events in Blood of Olympus. I am thankful that Leo found a way to alert everyone that he wasn’t in fact dead anymore otherwise I think my heart would’ve hurt a little. Even though I should’ve predicted it I didn’t think Leo would actually turn up in this book, maybe I didn’t catch on with the foreshadowing in the beginning here. Then the prophecy finally happened and who did it vaguely talk about Leo Freaking Valdez. I’m so excited that Apollo, Leo and Calypso are going to be the three who are completing the prophecy because we finally get to see an awesome team up. Plus more time to fall in love with Leo, Calypso and Caleo. The one thing I would change in this book when it comes to Leo is the fact that I think it was a little bit excessive that all of the other characters, including the minor ones literally lined up to all physically hit Leo for the worry that they caused them. Like I would understand if only one person did it, but all of them? Come on guys just be happy he’s not you know still dead.